Breast cancer is the most common cancer in woman worldwide, contributing more than 25% of the total number of new cases diagnosed in 2012 (Ferlay et al., 2013). In South Africa, incidence rates are predicted to reach six times current levels by 2050 and overall African mortality rates are among the highest in the world (Bateman, 2012).
The standard cancer therapies used today, however, drastically compromise the homeostasis of normal cells, thus limiting their clinical effectiveness (Gerl, 2005). The anthracycline, doxorubicin (Dox), is one of the most effective anti-neoplastic agents used in the treatment of breast cancer and various other cancers (Octavia et al, 2012), However, its clinical effectiveness is limited due to its side effects, which include cumulative and dose-dependent cardiac toxicity (Gharib and Burnett, 2001; Takemura and Fijuwara, 2007; Zhang et al., 2009). Furthermore, cancer cells are becoming increasingly resistant to conventional therapy.
There is therefore a need to develop new treatment strategies which have the ability to target breast cancer tumour cells without harming normal cells and which circumvent the chemo-resistant phenotype.